Sister Marianne Cope in her youth. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Last week I heard from a Knapp cousin who recently discovered Knapp Notes while doing family history research. Barb Brown had an intriguing story to share with us.

It’s an amazing story of how a young girl from Heppenheim sailed from Germany on the same ship that carried one of our ancestors to America – and grew up to do incredible things. Here is Barb’s letter below:

Dear Ann:

I recently stumbled upon “Knapp Notes” in researching my family history. Johann Klein (1801-1883) and Elizabetha Knapp (1803-1841) are my 3rd great grandparents.

Do you have any information on Elizabeth’s grandparents and earlier? I would appreciate any assistance you can give me. I noticed in the “Notes” references to the Moledor’s. My 2nd great-grandfather is Johann Moledor (1816-1876). I have a copy of his Reisepass a cousin generously shared with me if you are interested.

I also noted the name Trares listed on your website. I am not related to the Trares, but researching genealogy often leads to tangents. One of these side investigations led me to the following, which you may find interesting.

When he was 14, John Lewis Trares (1825-1904) arrived in the U.S. on the ship Ariosta on October 16, 1839 (per New York Passenger List , 1824-1957).

Turning to the next page of this same passenger list (traveling on the same ship), you will find the Peter Koob family. Note that the youngest of the family, Barbara, was 1 1/2 years old. The Koob family was from Heppenheim, Hesse. Upon reaching the U.S., the Koob family moved to Utica, NY where the family name became Americanized as Cope.

Barbara became a nun and taught in the schools in the area and also became a principal. She established two Catholic hospitals in the area and acted as administrator. In 1883, the king of Hawaii pleaded with religious orders asking for help in caring for lepers. Over 50 religious orders were contacted. Only Barbara responded with enthusiasm. She and six other sisters went to Hawaii to care for those devastated by this disease. She cared for Father Damien , also known as St. Damien of Molokai, in his last months.

By the way, upon entering her order, Barbara became Sister Marianne. She was canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict as St. Marianne Cope.

Had the Koob family traveled west with the Trares, instead of heading north, we may have had a saint from our parish of St. Joseph, Randolph.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of information.

Sincerely,

Barb Brown

(A distant Knapp cousin)

Thanks, Barb, for sharing this fascinating bit of history with the other members of the Knapp clan. Please note Barb’s request for assistance with learning more about her Knapp, Klein and Moledor connections. If anyone has any information to share, please contact me at Knapp Notes and I’ll pass along the information to Barb.

References

Wish to learn more about Marianne Cope and her work with the lepers in Hawaii?